DEGREES OFFERED• Master of Architecture
T H E G R A D U A T E S C H O O L | M O N T A N A S T A T E U N
I V E R S I T Y
TheGraduate School
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School of ArchitectureThe MSU School of Architecture’s location
in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana offers a dramatic
learning environment for faculty and student design inquiry and
creativity. The school has a strong tradition of fostering
independent design thinking in concert with independent research.
Our award-winning faculty offer vigorous graduate educational
pro-grams. The multidisciplinary interests of our faculty and
graduate students form the basis of exciting new research
collaborations with a variety of other disciplines including the
College of Agriculture, the College of Business and the College of
Engineering.
Graduate architecture education at Montana State University is
rigorous, demanding and exhilarating. As part of our mission, we
strive to play an essential and innovative role in enhancing the
human condition. To accomplish this, the School of Architecture
empowers students to critically engage the complexities of society
and the natural environment by instilling the fundamental
principles of design and inspiring a spirit of exploration and
cre-ative experimentation in shaping the built environment. Design
studios form the core of our architectural education, and every
student makes a significant design studio commitment each
semester.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONStudents wishing to acquire the Master of
Architecture Degree must complete three semes-ters of graduate
study. Throughout this graduate study, students will choose from a
variety of architectural studios, design-build projects,
architectural seminars, research methods, and non-architectural
electives intended to emphasize the development of a critical
position with regard to the environment and architecture. A final
graduate design studio is required that demonstrates the student’s
moral, ethical, and aesthetic responsibility to society and the
natural world.
Design is at the center of all we do with particular emphasis on
the landscape, culture, sustainability and theory. Studios begin
regionally and expand outwardly with varying studio field trip
experiences to places that have included Chicago, New York, San
Francisco,
Department Address:160 Cheever HallMontana State UniversityP.O.
Box 173760Bozeman, MT 59717-3760Phone: (406)
994-4256www.arch.montana.edu
S C H O O L O F A R C H I T E C T U R E
and Los Angeles as well as non-urban locations in the central
valley of California and the farmlands of western Washington.
During the graduate year students select from a series of studio
options including the Visiting Scholars Studio, which brings
visiting faculty or practitio-ners to the MSU campus to teach a
graduate level studio. Other studio options have explored design
solutions for visitor facilities in Grand Canyon National Park,
migrant worker housing in the Pacific Northwest, as well as
housing, social and economic issues in Nairobi, Kenya. Graduate
electives allow students to explore topics on meaning and place,
advanced day-lighting and energy analysis, fused glass,
photography, interior design, history/theory, historic
preservation, furniture design and advanced material studies.
LEARNING, DISCOVERY, AND ENGAGEMENTThe School has an outstanding
tradition in outreach and engagement to communities. The School has
developed strong connections with the state’s cities, towns,
national parks and tribes, including projects on the Crow and
Blackfeet reservations and on-going work in Yellowstone National
Park. Students and faculty in the School of Architecture have
undertaken work on the Towne Harvest Vegetable Washing Station, the
Khumbu Climbing School in Pohrtse, Nepal, the Hyalite Pavilion in
Gallatin National Forest, the Morocco Sustainable Community
Development program, the Global Urban Lab’s Kenya straw-bale
design-build and the Playful Ping Pong Pavilion design-build
collaboration between MSU School of Architecture and Oxford Brookes
University The School’s re-search reflects a diverse and
wide-ranging faculty of committed practitioners of the profession
of architecture. Faculty have received national recognition for
their work, ranging from NCARB Prize awards, American Society of
Architectural Illustrators’ Awards of Excellence, book
publications, and numerous AIA State and Regional Awards. The
School is the current headquarters of the Design Communication
Association.
Faculty-led efforts include the application of sustainable
design practice in rural regions, development of visually
compelling tools to encourage smarter growth in the rapidly growing
Rocky Mountain west, ongoing research in day-lighting with the
Integrated Design Lab, national and international competitions,
community design workshops, historic pres-ervation, and the
application of both hand and digital drawing and fabrication in the
design process. Our outstanding Lecture Series has included Marlon
Blackwell, Stanley Saitowitz, Branko Kolarevic, and Teddy Cruz just
to name a few.
School of Architecture, continued
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Admission into the Master of Architecture program is
competitive. Highly qualified students are admitted from both our
Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design degree program and from
other universities. Placement may vary depending upon the student’s
background; students with an undergraduate degree in a field other
than architecture will be considered, and must, if accepted,
complete a full course of study in design studio. Portfolio review
is of primary importance to the School of Architecture’s
application review committee. All applicants are required to submit
a portfolio of their best work to be reviewed by the school’s
faculty. For more information on admission requirements and
procedures please refer to our website.
In the United States, most state registration boards require a
degree from an accredited professional degree program as a
prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting
Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S.
professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three
types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of
Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be
granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation,
depending on the extent of its con-formance with established
educational standards.
Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree
programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and
a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially,
constitute an accredited professional education. However, the
pre-profes-sional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an
accredited degree.
Montana State University School of Architecture offers the
following NAAB-accredited degree program:
• Master of Architecture (pre-professional + 42 graduate
credits)• Next accreditation visit for this program will take place
in 2014
SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT FELLOWSHIPS The
School of Architecture offers a wide range of endowed and annual
scholarships, as well as annual design competition scholarships
totaling over $50,000 each year. The selection criteria for each
scholarship vary from outstanding capability to promise of
excellence and demonstration of financial need. The School offers a
number of Graduate Teaching Assistant Fellowships—allowing graduate
students to teach in our undergraduate program and providing
tuition waivers for our students. Graduate students must apply for
these highly sought after positions.